The Valeyard: Lost souls Part 2A tribute to: My Little Pony Friendship is Magic Healing Pony POV Series by alexwarlorn

We both stepped outside the portal and into a snowstorm. This time there was no clear path, only a seemingly never-ending snowfield as far as I could see. I tried to use a few scanning spells but there was nothing to be found around us. I really missed my sonic screwdriver in times like this.

The pink pony next to me was looking around herself as well and it seemed her Pinkie Pie Sense did not tell her where to go next. But when has it ever been easy?

So we wandered forward. I placed a few magic marks on the ground to prevent us from doing the moronic thing and keep walking in circles.

We could see that we were not alone. Countless ponies, changelings, donkeys, Diamond Dogs, sheep, minotaurs and dragons were frozen in place and we could see their desperate eyes following our every move. Distant screams could be heard through the raging snowstorm.

Our track seemed to take us hours and there was still no clue of where we had to go. I could feel my strength slowly running out and the pink pony wasn’t in a much better condition. It was like the snowstorm did drain us of all life and energy.

“This doesn’t lead us anywhere. We need to take a break a find some clue of where to go.”

The pony groaned and then she suddenly stopped and it was like there were 10 of her who build an igloo out of the snow at a blazingly fast speed. They even took a coffee break and one handed me a pot of coffee as well. How was she doing all of this?

Eventually we went inside and I created a small fire in the middle of the igloo, burning exactly with enough heat to keep us warm while not melting the igloo itself. Timing and practise is everything on things like that. Overall the form of a unicorn was easily the best and most versatile of my three possible forms in this universe when I was still alive. The combination of a sharp mind and the ability to shape mana into magic is simply brilliant. I noticed the pink pony was looking at me.

“Can I ask you one question?”

“It is not that I can simply walk outside the room” I said while pointing at the exit with the raging snowstorm outside. “The last two times things went worse after your questions, try to avoid that this time.”

“Your last words towards my friends after your defeat were about the Nightmare… How did you know about her?”

I had to chuckle.

“Now don’t underestimate me. I AM a Time Lord. I know more about time then you can imagine and I had already hundreds of years of experience even before Discord came. I could sense that there was something horribly wrong with the world we were living in.”

“So why didn’t you use your time machine to travel back to where she was the weakest and to stop that version of...”

“I could see that I already had tried to do this. I made my preparations with the old girl when…”

“The old girl?”

“My TARDIS. I assure you that she is the only travelling companion I will ever truly need. I was together with her for hundreds of years.”

“Now I begin to understand why Discord married you off to her 300 years ago.”

I had to cough.

“It was a very emotional moment for her… But back to the topic: Time is not a straight line. You can’t simply go back a few steps and everything will reset perfectly. Each change does leave small cracks behind, you could call them leftovers. Those are usually hardly noticeable even when you can see them. But in our world instead of small cracks we had gaping holes. A few years after my awakening - from my perspective because you know, time machine - I could see exactly how often reality was rewritten…”

I could still remember that day very clearly. I almost collapsed from the realisation what this meant… I had met many mass murdering monsters on my travels, the earlier incantations of me and of course myself did end a lot of lives but this number was higher then all of that combined. Time and space were twisted almost beyond recognition. It was just insane.

I am one of the few beings in the universe who is able to comprehend the deaths of billions. This wasn’t merely the death of a few side characters that I was so used to from the Doctor’s little adventures.

Stupid memory! So many lives were ended by the Doctor and me but then it was finally over. I would never think about bringing back the Daleks just to kill their race again. I have eradicated them all because they were a threat to my future plans and life in general. And the last time I was a bit more creative and not only killed them, their homeworld and their creator but the very idea of Daleks ever being created. I got that wonderful idea by studying the weeping angels and creating the exact opposite of their ability to recreate themselves from ideas, images and visual memory.

And now 600 years later I still haven’t seen the Daleks again. Not that a single living being in the universe would miss them now.

I had to think of what I did to the Master but even then if he hadn’t finally ran out of regenerations I would have teleported him into the center of the sun very soon. His death was very satisfying but seeing him endlessly die was a lot less entertaining then I expected it to be. I am nothing like that time-twisting psychopath! What was this strange feeling? Why did it… hurt?

I… I needed to focus on the pony standing before me.

“To make it short, I found the hints that time travel and reality overwrite will always leave behind. I also saw the trails of myself already travelling to points where I would try to remove her.”

“So you actually had tried to defeat her before and failed?”

“According to Discord he even gave me his powers multiple times to have a better chance against her. And he said that I was much slower in this circle. I bet he says that every time.”

Now Pinkie Pie was drawing a flow chart on the wall of the igloo.

“So you wanted to obtain his powers and he knew that. And you knew that he knew, so why did he even keep you around and why did you even stay on our world?”

“I am the Valeyard, I have surpassed my earlier incarnations in every… almost every aspect. I had overcome the weeping angels, the Daleks and several other failures of the past, so I was sure that there was nothing I couldn’t crush. I couldn’t attack Nightmare Psychosis directly but if I could infect her primary host with a copy of my personality I had a very good chance of taking her over as well or at least of locking her out. Unfortunately your friends did interrupt my wonderful plan before it really began. Good times. Discord thought surely that I was just a useful wannabe or maybe he was even happy that there was at least one other being on this planet who knew what this world really was.”

“You got her name wrong, she calls herself Nightmare Eclipse now. According to Fluttershy it was Nightmare Dusk and Nightmare Purgatory before. Speaking of purgatory… maybe Little Hex has atoned enough for what he did and that is the reason why I was allowed to make this journey.”

“You got the wrong afterlife in mind. Have you seen all the suffering souls around us? This is the ‘eternal damnation’ kind of afterlife. ”

"And when you go back to the stars and tell others of this planet, when you tell them of its riches, its people, its potential, when you talk of the Earth, then make sure you tell them this... it is DEFENDED!"

Why wouldn’t these bucking memories just stop bothering me? I resisted Twilight’s memory spell and got over the weaknesses of my earlier incarnations. Why does it all come back now?

I needed something to take my concentration off my own past. I looked at the pony and decided to ask her a question this time.

“Tell me, why are you here of all places? If you were able to cross over to the other side, then why would you ever come HERE willingly?”

“I had to. I had to do it for Little Hex. Some of my children were able to reach the Father of All Alicorns by themselves and some had help from my blood family. And I think I will never be able to make up for what the Pie family had done for me even after I turned my back on them and almost led my children all straight into hell…”

"I owe it to my friend to try because I got her into this! So you see... I'm not going to let you stop me now!"

Why is this getting worse and worse? Why do I keep getting these flashbacks? It is cold, so cold…

“Pound, Pumpkin, Fuse Box, Bomb Pie, Powder Cake, Fire Cracker, Grenade Pie, Short Fuse, Hatchet, Latchet, Spring Dew, Bubbles, Stormy Night and Apple Sauce were all saved by them. I managed to reach Morning Light. Almost all of my children are free but I will not rest until Little Hex is safe as well.”

“Don’t you think that it is a bit greedy to expect a happy ending like this? You can’t save everypony. I travelled the universe for hundreds of years and do you know how incredible rare it was that not a single soul did die? In these times I learned that in reality we simply don’t have happy endings. The survivors just continue always on the brink of total destruction no matter how much evil you strike down. Unless you gain enough power to force a change, nothing will ever become different, eventually evil WILL win.”

“You know I was around for 1000 years as well and all this time no matter what Discord, you or us six did, life did continue to exist. There were no grand heroes on this world that saved the day every week but the mortals fought hard just to survive. And they did, after 1000 years of chaos, they are still there. Discord had won but that wasn’t the end of the world itself. I know that no matter how much I wish it with my entire existence, I can’t guarantee that I will be able to reach Little Hex but I do know for certain that I would NEVER forgive myself if I would give up on him!”

I felt my consciousness slipping away. I was so tired… what… was… happening?

As I awoke I was alone. There was no pink pony here, only darkness. It felt familiar, like the time Twilight had cast this memory spell on me. Suddenly several huge statues broke through the black ground and they were all looking down at me. I recognised them as my earlier incarnations. How could they dare to do that?

“I am the superior incarnation. I have finished what you began. I was the only one able to do it after abandoning all the things that kept holding me back. You have no right to judge me!!! I was always what you were supposed to be.”

They didn’t talk back but somehow they seemed almost sad…

“How could I fail? Twilight and her group were just puppets of the Nightmare! How could they be able to overcome me?”

"If you could touch the alien sand, and hear the cry of strange birds, and watch them wheel in another sky... would that satisfy you?"

"All the evils I have fought, while you have done nothing but observe! True, I am guilty of interference. Just as you are guilty of failing to use your great powers to help those in need!"

My entire long existence as the Doctor kept flashing before my eyes, especially all the companions I had and when they were there to save me. I remembered my adventures with Ditzy. How she taught me how to do the most basic things as a pony.

You turn doorknobs with your mouth, bee? Don’t curry, they are all clean.

I remembered the brilliant dances I had with Apple Smith. It felt like another life. Because it was.

Miss Smith, may I have this dance?

Then a wave of blackness crashed down on me again.

I found myself back in the darkness again. The statues were gone. I was all alone, standing high above everypony. Like I always wanted it to be, I wanted to be the one to guide the universe into a glorious future. At least I had told myself that I could have a perfectly orderly universe if I would be the one to control it.

After Discord had killed me over and over again, I began to think that there was no place for mercy, compassion and forgiveness. All my enemies came back, no matter what the Doctor tried to do. Nothing ever changed. Nothing ever moved forward. I was sure that changes had to be forced upon this ungrateful universe.

As the Valeyard I thought I was finally making a difference but in the end did I really change anything or was I just replacing the monsters I eradicated with myself?

“But if I am the superior version of the Doctor, his ultimate evolution… then why was I trying so hard to avoid dying? None of my earlier incarnations were putting so much effort into it. The answer is simple… I… I was afraid… afraid, to be proven wrong by the next incarnation… And I was… When I faded I sensed the Doctor returning, not another Valeyard but the Doctor.”

Twilight’s memory spell had much more effect on me then I wanted to admit.

Why was Ditzy’s brief lecture about companions choosing to stay at my side so agonising?

Was there something important I had forgotten?

I began to investigate the darkness around me and began to dig with my bare hooves. The statues still had to be somewhere under all this goo.

I was about to finish the Daleks off. They were almost all destroyed. Just one last group had escaped. They would spread again. They would rebuild their empire if left alone. I was more then ready to finish it once and for all.

To think that for my earlier incarnations running away was almost a catchphrase but now my enemies fled from me (if they were smart enough) wherever I went.

I found them on a planet where only seaponies lived. It was a mostly harmless and overall very peaceful world. Translation: They were completely unable to defend themselves against a threat like the Daleks.

I kept digging deeper and deeper as I realised that my current companion had already saved me two times.

The Daleks had already begun to exterminate them as I arrived. One Dalek was charging up his death ray right in the face of a seapony filly. As they noticed me they knew what was coming next. All Daleks screamed at once:

“Have pity!”

I smiled back.

“Have fun! Now it is your time to be EX-TER-MI-NATED!”

The TARDIS activated the antenna I had installed specifically for eradicating every single Dalek in existence. It emitted an energy wave that covered the entire planet in one second.

Every single Dalek screamed as they felt the change inside themselves. There was only one thing Daleks hated more then other living beings and that was to loose their own twisted purity. The effect of this energy wave healed their deformations and mutations. Now no longer able to recognise themselves as Daleks they desperately fired their weapons on each other to preserve their purity. After 5 minutes there was not a single living Dalek left on this world.

Cheers erupted around me. I have to admit that I hadn’t expected that.

I began to see the top of one statue.

I had to admit that Pinkie Pie, once she had freed herself from Discord’s taint, was the total opposite the mindless brute she was before. When she talked about freeing her child, she made it sound like it is possible, like she can actually save a soul from hell itself.

A female seapony hugged me. It was kinda strange and embarrassing, had she really no idea who I was?

“You saved my child from the killer robots, please what is your name?”

And she will make fun of it in 5 seconds. I still had this setting for my sonic screwdriver that can evaporate the water of an entire plan at once. It was very useful when the kingdom of chaos was attacked by a planet-sized bacterium. And I would definitely not correct her about the true nature of the Daleks.

“I am the Valeyard, the Doctor of the laws of time and space.”

“THREE CHEERS FOR SAINT VALEYARD!!!”

I continued deeper and deeper.

For the first time since an eternity I actually felt lonely. I remembered that once as the Doctor I wanted to travel with the pink pony and now as it actually happened… she was a competent companion: A great runner, durable and determined. Didn’t I continue to travel with companions to not loose all interest in the wonders of the universe in the past? Didn’t their wonderful silly questions get my attention to what desperately needed attention?

It was hard to argue that these beings were brilliant when they celebrated me. I think they were very close to rename their planet after me.

The festival was quite entertaining. They even had pears. It seems that no matter which world they were on, seaponies were always excellent singers and musicians. And they were also very fast with loading all the remains of the Daleks into my TARDIS. I wasn’t taking any chances and would throw their remains into the next sun.

After the party was over I left the planet. Well the TARDIS seemed to have fun with everything but I was very happy to return to a world where I was not called Saint. It was so much easier to ignore others or to move them like pawns then to actually talk and interact with them. I wondered what Discord would say if I would show him a few pictures from this planet.

After what felt like hours of hard work I had freed the face of one statue from the darkness. It was my first incarnation. Suddenly I had to think about Barbara… Ian… the TARDIS… Susan…

Suddenly water crashed down on me.

I was awake and Pinkie Pie stood next to me. Half of the top of the igloo had melted and fallen down on me.

“Did you have character development?”

“What? I… mean WHAT?”

“Well, Rainbow Dash had a long sleep and she ended up rebuilding her soul… I am sorry if it did interrupt your soul quest but the storm has suddenly stopped and the snow around the igloo began to melt. I can see the portal and soon Little Hex will be free.” She sounded so optimistic, so energetic.

I… I felt so unsure…

“I guess I was a pretty horrible guide so far. The only thing I ever did was to take care of your psycho twin. Now it is time to finish this.”

I jumped up and trotted out of the igloo and not to far ahead I could see the final portal.

The sound of weeping did interrupt me this time. Mrs. Hooves looked like she was about to have a mental breakdown.

“How did you end up in this lovely place anyway?”

“I… I tried to kill my own daughter because I thought she was sick and retarded. For years I told myself that her survival was a mere fluke and that the fact that she was unable to understand what I wanted to do to her just proved that I was right…”

She choked a bit before continuing.

“But on the day of chaos the chaos monster appeared to me and showed me the version of Derpy that I always wanted to have. My husband said that there was nopony there but soon he was silenced by something. How could he dare to say that about her? She was smart, her eyes were fixed and she spoke with such refinement and elegance. We talked and danced together, it was a dream come true but slowly she did lead me to the very river I tried to drown Derpy in and… and…”

Her weeping got worse and worse.

“I have been here for such a long time and no matter how often I think about it… I was wrong… horribly wrong… when I saw that the Derpy I had wished for all this time was a cold-hearted monster… I begun to realise that I was the only real cold-hearted monster. All this time afterwards my… dau… Derpy did try to reach out for me and I… just acted disappointed… I had no right… no right to call myself her mother.”

Then she was just silent, her eyes so filled with shame. It was time to finish the story.

We arrived at something that looked like Tambelon at the very end of the war. Corpses could be found everywhere: ponies, changelings, donkeys, Diamond Dogs, sheep, minotaurs and dragons. Countless of lives were lost on both sides in this conflict. The entire city was silent. This was the first part of hell where I could hear absolutely nopony scream and the silence unnerved me more then anything before.

Back in the time of the war I was mostly busy with planning the details of the operation going from movement of troops, reinforcements to battle strategies. But Little Hex was at the front together with Angry Pie from the beginning of the war to its very end. Even I had no idea how many lives he had ended personally in this conflict. Or what else he might have done in the middle of a war to end up in this place.

Wordlessly we walked down the empty city.

“Do you really think that you can save him?”

Only after I had said it, I realised that I had asked this question without any malice. I was honestly wondering if a soul lost in hell could even be saved. Wasn’t it impossible to change anything after the final judgement was made? But she came this far…

Pinkie Pie continued to search for her child as she answered me.

“Yes, my friends were able to save my soul, Fluttershy was able to give Fluttercruel a second chance and I was able to reach Morning Light after his death. I know that miracles can come true, I have seen a few.”

“Death is not the end, it can be a new beginning…” I whispered to myself. How many miracles had I seen in my long existence? How many did I remember from the adventures of the Doctor?

Deep down I wondered why this mare wasn’t able to wield the Element of Loyalty as she suddenly ran towards a broken building. Inside was a unicorn filly, Little Hex. Strangely there was nothing here to torture him but the silent city itself.

Just like everybody else he looked like a corpse and his body was covered with countless injuries. His left hind leg was twisted in an unnatural way and his eyes stared empty into the air. Finally his colors were faded, almost pure grey.

Pinkie Pie hugged him as soon as she had reached him. He didn’t react at all. The child was like a motionless puppet. Why was he still in the form of a colt?

“It is okay. I am here. Mommy was horribly wrong. Laughter can hurt you but that is not all it can do. Others can share it with you and you can get closer to others with it. Please, please listen to me…”

I could hear her voice quiver at the lack of response from her child. My role was over and whatever happened to them didn’t matter to me. Not at all. Not in the slightest. And no matter how often I told myself this, I could feel my mind racing.

“We were wrong to kill…so wrong… what have I done to you?” the mother lamented.

The foal will only recognise what he loves the most.

I remembered the writing I had found within the book. But how could it change anything? What could there be that the foal would love more then his adopted mother?

“I am sorry… so sorry…”

Wordlessly I watched the mother that refused to leave the side of her child. Then my brilliant mind was able to figure out what the problem was. The solution to the problem was finally clear to me but why should I bother to step up and change anything? … The answer is simple: I am the Valeyard, my will shall be done.

I teleported next to the crying mother and teleported her a few feet away from her child. Then I began to stomp violently on the head of the fallen child. Even that didn’t get any reaction from him.

Predictably the pink mare punched me into the wall behind me. The impact had enough force to make several parts of the ruin fall down on me. It was indeed as painful as expected.

“DON’T YOU EVER DARE TO…” she screamed at me with a pure focused fury before the mother looked ashamed of herself.

“Mommy?”

The foal stared at her in confusion. He was unable to recognise Pinkie Pie in his broken state but seeing Angry Pie for one second was enough to reach him.

“Little Hex!”

Both hugged instantly.

I managed a weak smile as I tried to crawl out of the rumble. This might take some time.

“Mommy, I am so sorry for worrying you…”

“It’s… it’s alright…” now tears ran down the face of the earth pony as she walked over to the part of the roof I was trapped under. Her child followed her.

Both began to move the rumble that trapped me aside.

“Are you sorry for what we have done to others to stop them from laughing?”

The foal nodded and the mother kissed his head.

“Then you need to let go. I forgive you. Let all the bad things that plagued you go and move on.”

Both hugged again as I managed to crawl out of the rest of the roof. The colors of the child began to return to normal as the lifeless city faded away. We were back in the small cave where our journey had begun. It seemed that his hind leg was healed as well.

A glowing white portal opened before the two ponies. We all knew where it led. Both ponies began to look at me. The mother smiled at me. Meanwhile the shadows on the wall seemed almost afraid of her and retreated further away.

“Thank you, you were a good guide.”

It has been a while since somepony said something like this to me. It… felt good.

"I guess I am still as untrustworthy as always. I promised you one thing and I broke that promise. I... you two should just go. There is nothing for you here anymore.

“Just one second.”

Out of nowhere the pink pony took out a camera and handed it over to me. Both stood close to each other before the portal and smiled.

“Say pears!”

We all looked at the single picture of the family I had reunited. Finally she handed me her camera and was about to leave with her child.

“One more thing…”

Both looked at me with curiosity.

“…Thank you.”

Pinkie gave another beaming smile before vanishing back to where she belonged with her child. I was alone again.

But why did I feel so good? I had gone far beyond what my task was. Memories of the time I had spent on the planet of seaponies came back to me. Didn’t I originally choose the title of the Doctor to show that I was the one who improves others? Who heals?

As I turned around I walked right into Pandora again. She had the same sense of timing as her brother.

“I knew you still had to have at least something interesting in you. I always loved it how the good old Doctor used his imagination to come up with a plan.” the Draconequus said with a sly grin.

“And I always found it hilarious when his enemies thought that he had a plan when he was just making it up on the fly…I still don’t understand it… why did you give me another chance and let the soul go?”

“Now don’t get me wrong. It is not like we will ever run out of them. In the time you two reached Hexie we got more then enough souls in return. They will always come here but not everyone stays here for all eternity. Some are just lost souls. It is not that dad needs a high soul score to feel better about himself. He is above that. To him the loss of one soul is like a losing hand in a game of Poker. And he even got some entertainment in exchange. Strife also won her bet with Anarchy that Pinkie Pie can be faster then a weeping angel.”

And I am very sure that this Draconequus was the one who left the hint within the book she gave me.

“Heh, who would have guessed that Pinkie Pie was not so wrong with her idea of a purgatory in hell… Well if I remember correctly I was promised a reward in return.”

“Sure, sure… How about an eternal stay in my library? You could sort the books and there would be very few souls to bother you while you are doing it.”

“And the rest of the story is not that important to you.” I said to Dancing Hooves who still listened intensively.

“The child actually was able to find peace?”

I could see how much she wanted to ask me this one question: Could I ever be able to follow him? But she was too ashamed to ask, too afraid to take the next step. In the end she was just another lost soul.

“You are not stupid. You have already figured out why I am here, haven’t you?”

“But I could never… I couldn’t… I don’t deserve another chance…”

Of course I knew that neither I nor my story alone could be able to free her. But I wasn’t alone.

“Now you are free to believe what you want but I had a companion on the journey to you as well and you might want to explain it to her in detail.”

Her eyes dilated in shock as she looked behind me and saw who was with me this time.

“Long time no see, grandmother.” Sparkler said walking forward with determination. There were a lot of things she needed to say to her grandmother and she would not stop now. We had come too far to stop now, especially not after what Mrs. Hooves had said.

Slowly I stepped in the background as the two ponies began to talk to each other. I wondered if even I could eventually free my own soul of everything that dragged it down. I guess I am a glutton for punishment if I asked Pandora if I could continue to do tasks like this. But now on my second journey with a companion I begin to enjoy this: This ever changing place with countless of souls, each with its own story.

It is strange, here in the last place where I expected to find something like this…

But somehow I feel like I belong here… like I can make a difference here.

This is a tribute to a series of fanfiction by about the popular series “My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic”.

As time moves on and lives pass away, souls find themselves in their afterlife. Some manage to reach the Father of Alicorns while others find themselves in the hell of Havoc. The Valeyard is one of them. Once he was known as the Doctor but this incarnation was different for several reasons. After his defeat the heroes have long moved on in their quest to free their world and many more battles had to be fought. Yet death is not the end of everything, sometimes it can be a new beginning.

Please comment.

Many thanks to for Beta Reading this story and giving me many great suggestions and ideas for it.

Actually another fan of the Pony POV Series has beaten me to it and wrote a story about what happened to the Master and a few amazing stories about the Doctor as well. If you have the time, you might enjoy those as well:

I think that would still work with these scenes since we have no clear indication of how long it takes for the second journey to happen and in the spirit realm time flows differently anyway. So Sparkler could have made this journey BEFORE the souls are releashed back to the mortal world.

The only downside would be that it wouldn't matter if Sparkler would be able to save Dancing Hooves or not since she would fit into the category of those who died because of Discord's chaos. She would either be able to move on to a better afterlife or be reborn into a second chance. But neither Sparkler or Dancing Hooves would know this at this point and I have to admit Sparkler telling her mother (after her rebirth) who helped her in hell would be pretty funny.

In fact I could imagine that the Valeyard would be the only soul who would choose to stay in hell if he was offered the chance to be reborn.

Thank you, I admit that I really love stories about redemption and lights in the darkness. And if I look back to my stories about Discord, Trixie, Lonomia the Changeling, Discord, Nightmare Granfalloon, Fluttercruel, Discord, Prince Blueblood and the Valeyard I had used that theme several times. I just hope that it was different enough each time so that it would not become repetitious.

The irony is that not only is the Valeyard manipulating Pinkie Pie, he is manipulating her into doing what he always complained about: That allies only end up hurting him. And now the Valeyard makes Pinkie hurt him, so that she can be reunited with her child.

And with his final choice the Valeyard shows that he had finally understood what being a Doctor really meant.

I always found that old saying very interesting since it basically turns everything you know about good and evil and its head and challenges you to actually feel something for the very incarnation of evil.

The 3rd trial was simply a giant snowstorm. Kinda like in the neverending story, only all snow, no mirror. They wandered about, but had to stop for shelter for a bit.

And so, having come to a halt, they had time to talk. She asked him how he knew about Paradox, and could tell something was wrong, and why he couldn't stop her. As time can crack from creating bends in time, and in their world, there were giant holes from all the repeats (probably explaining the errors in time back in Dark World 27 and the image spots in the middle of chapters showing worse case scenarios). He was horrified when he figured out how great paradox's choices had made: billions upon billions destroyed, greater than the daleks, cyberponies, weeping angels, and all other despots, and a timescale tied in knots, tangles and really scary bows.

And it was about here that the doctor's greatest quotes started to creep into his mind. Like about there being nobody who wasn't important. and remembering the death of the master for some reason made his final death less entertaining in the endless deaths, and perhaps also made things more alike than he'd like to admit.

He also saw that he'd tried to defeat Eclipse multiple times, and wanted to try the personality infection spell next, but ran into the snag of dying. (ha ha)

And then they talked of hell and choices. Of gratitude towards family, and love for others. The Valyard kept having flashbacks to his older determination and nobility. To his bravery and loyalty. and then came the great reparte.

You cannot save everyone, ever. Do you need power to force changes to stop evil (the saurman theory?) Or perhaps you just need to see that no matter how great Evil becomes, it will never snuff good? People find a way through the strife to survive (stealth pun intentional), and even in a land without famous heroes, life continued, and the will to do good is more important than the fear of failure.

It was right about there that Valyard entered his own coma dream. Where he saw his old selves looking at him. Seeming sad rather than angry. And slowly, they pushed into him, the question of seeing alien life being satisfying. Of stepping in with great power to help rather than just seeing things fail. Of friends who actually saved him, and of ponies who taught him how to live a different life.

Evil kept coming back, so the doctor thought things hopeless. The valeyard thought he changed everything, or did he just become the last monster himself? And if he thought himself the ultimate evolution, then why was he afraid of dying? You're a genius valyard, surely you're self aware enough to figure it out: "I… I was afraid… afraid, to be proven wrong by the next incarnation…"

Then he saw his final destruction of the daleks. (on this cycle at least) His friends had helped him, and he destroyed all the daleks by crushing their deformity into purity causing their self destruction. And how they cheered for his defeat of the evil rather than mocked him for his name.

And for the first time, Valyard began remembering what made all that traveling and war worthwhile: the people who kept him on task. The people who kept things wonderous though their first time experience. And after all that, the storm stopped.

Meanwhile, Dancing Hooves was crying. She was crying because she had tried to drown her daughter, and then on the day of discord, got a vision of the Derpy she would have wanted, and in her cruel way of thinking, saw that she was being lead to the exact same point she was trying to put Derpy in. She had finally had her realization of pain, and her wrongdoing. So, it was time to finish the story.

So, they reached the foal, who didn't react to anything. Only seeing the death and destruction wrought by his hooves, freezing him. Pinkie desperately tried to reach him, but getting nothing. And it was right about here that the Valyard had his reverse epiphany to being the unfettered. He no longer felt a need to worry about what people thought of his work, but now, that means that he can step forward to solve problems for the benefit of others, because he's a doctor, and as a doctor who gets things done, he will solve these problems of hell.

So he called forth the face of Angry Pie by provoking her protective side, and thus, the redemption happened, and the last of the foals (i think), was redeemed. and the portal to heaven was reopened, sending the shadows of existence fleeting.

They said their goodbyes, and the valyard came to realize that perhaps he's not as different from the doctor after all. he went beyond the call, but it felt good to help others. It was, it was a sign of his change.

It appears that being the draconequs of imagination, Pandora was a big fan of the doctor, and explained why they let souls go: there will always be more, and perhaps this is getting souls to their proper point, as sometimes they're just lost souls who need a staff to get out. Surely her time watching Pinkie get redeemed was proof enough of that. Also, it appears that Anarchy just can't out-predict Strife. This is the second time we've seen him lose a bet with Strife.

Then came the reward. Instead of staying in imagination's eternal library, he chose to come back, and be the ferryman for the searchers. And thus came the point of the story: he was here to help Mrs. Hooves get out of hell finally. She was on the edge of figuring out that she wanted to leave hell, but was held back by shame and guilt. Thankfully, she had a visitor: her grand daughter who in another timeline called her out for her disowning Derpy. But now, after being kicked out of her body, she could finally step in and help her family get home to the alicorns.

And, it's odd, but I think that the reason the Valyard can work well here is that he's essentially taken the job of being the doctor but IN HELL! He's still traveling through a near infinite number of scenarios to think through with a companion. He's still helping others. And he's making a difference, only on a cosmic scale 1 by 1. First Little Hex, and now Dancing Hooves. And who knows. Maybe one day, he might get permission to deal with the never-weres of entropy. Then again, given her current relationship with Havoc, this might never happen, but eternity is a funny thing. Who knows what might happen.

The point is, that the valyard is now the mortis of hell, and perhaps one day, he might even choose to let go of his duties, and get a pardon to come back to the alicorns. Though considering what he's changed about himself, perhaps he's already one of them.

What a nice touchstone with continuity thrown in to talk about the changing of the guard of one of the dark world's less sympathetic characters. This is official head canon for me unless written otherwise in the dark timeline.

The third trial is intentionally different, the first two were things from their past and something they could understand but with the final one it could have been a lot of things: Windigoes, an plane eternally shifting between the most hostile forms and maybe becoming a deadly desert next, the hatred of mortals given form, the total lack of the comforting embrace of the Father of All Alicorns…

The Valeyard is still seeing Nightmare Paradox as a horrible monster since the mortals she murders are just collateral damage to inflict eternal torture on Discord. He did kill many but he never thought that it was similar since he killed for a reason, he thought that killing the Daleks and Weeping Angels completely was the right thing to do. You could very well argue that the Daleks only exist to mass murder others and after just a few years without them, billions and billions were saved since the Daleks didn’t genocide them when the Doctor wasn’t there. And since Paradox is also a clear threat to his own plans he tried to stop her and failed multiple times.

But slowly his own excuses fade away as this journey brings back more and more memories of what he remembers from the Doctor. His final defence was the claim that evil will eventually win if it is left undefeated and because of this good simply can’t triumph at all. So the only solution is it to abandon the terms of good and evil and embrace pure power. Yet at the same time Pinkie Pie knows that there will always be light in the darkness and just as the darkness can’t be defeated forever, the light will not vanish completely after being defeated. The mortals fought hard for their right to life and now Nightmare Paradox wants to take it from them without mercy.

While it is never spelled out completely, just like Paradox the Valeyard was chasing an impossible goal as well. He had become so fixated on the battle against all the enemies of the Doctor that he had completely forgotten WHY the Doctor was fighting, for his companions, for his friends and for everybody who he could protect. Every single life that the Doctor could save made the painful experiences bearable. Deep down the Valeyard knew that he was missing something and was horribly afraid that the next incarnation might have that and prove his own claim of ultimate evolution wrong.

Then after the storm dies down both reach Little Hex and the mother seems unable to reach her lost child. The Valeyard soon figures out what he could do to help but that is hardly a surprise considering how smart he is. But he makes the decision to make a difference and takes the choice that will lessen the pain of somebody else. Not only that but his choice actively harms himself by intentionally provoking Pinkie Pie’s anger. And he still manipulates Pinkie Pie into doing it, he is the Valeyard after all.

The irony is that the Valeyard is one of the few souls that is able to take on such a task and be the guide for others through hell. He has an incredible amount of experience, has seen the entire universe, few things can surprise him, he is incredible smart, he is good in manipulating others and he ended up in hell in the first place. I guess Pandora could be really frustrated that heaven usually gets all the creative and interesting souls.

Both Dancing Hooves and Little Hex realised what they had done wrong but they were absolutely crushed by it, only thanks to the guidance of others were they able to take the next step. In life Sparkler never had the chance to talk some sense into her granddaughter but now she actually has a chance to reach her. Only in death did the Valeyard realise what being the Doctor really meant and thankfully he had one final chance to take a different path and to make a difference.

reasons for killing vs "collateral damage". Ah, the great problem of murder. And the reason for war. That's what the valyard lacks that is truly important among the regenerations.

Also, the way you put on that "manipulating" spin was a clever little twist, since that's technically not what the alicorns really desire, but it still helped someone, and helped Anger-free pinkie get her last child back.

Hmmm, so you really think that pony heaven gets most of the "creative and interesting souls?" I know the bar's not exactly the highest as repentance is the only requirement (and that is totally a Christian concept), but surely there must be some intellectual or artist, or planner, or general or SOMEONE whom Pandora can spend time with.

Come to think of it, this ties into a question I've proposed to someone, but I'd like your take on it. So, Mortis belongs to the alicons because death means a new beginning. (death of the old self, death of bad habits, etc.) But why does Pandemonium belong to the draconequi? Does imagination really belong to the nothing and fear?

If Pandora's irritation on losing the creative souls are well founded, then she truly has a thankless job: always giving beings ideas and ways to express themselves, but being unable to congratulate them on account of her lineage. So why is she Entropy and Havoc's child?

Well, I don't think that pony hell does get that many interesting souls since just think about the Pony POV Series. All the characters we have seen and most of them will go to pony heaven afterwards. But the others surely exist and Pandora might be able to enjoy the company of creative and intellectual persons that were banished to hell. The irony is that once the Valeyard becomes better with what he does, he wouldn't WANT to leave hell, since that is where he can make a difference.

But Pandora is a strange case. Yet from a certain point of view imagination does belong to the draconequi. After all fear needs imagination to truly work and Havoc himself is so beyond mortal comprehension that without imagination they might simply see nothing when they look at him. Fears that use your own imagination are usually the most effective ones. When compared to the Nothing you could say that imagination can lead to the desire to erase everything and leave nothing behind, just like chaos or destruction could. In the end imagination, just like fear, chaos, destruction or anarchy is not evil but can be a very destructive force.

If you think about it, he is actually very qualified to do something like this. He has an incredible ammount of experience both from his memories of the Doctor and all the years in the kingdom of chaos and since he is used to the living hell that Discord and Nightmare Paradox created he is likely one of the only souls durable enough to take multiple journeys through hell.

And it allows him to have journeys and adventures like the Doctor used to have while doing an incredible difficult and often painful task that few other souls would ever want to do on their own free will.

How is it that Imagination belongs to Entropy? I know that Mortis belongs to Fauna Luster because he lets things start anew, but why does imagination belong to all things ending? Is imagination bad? Or is it just a side effect of being the second youngest draconequs? Or perhaps the hallucinations tie her down to self destruction as Entropy's work claims all will? It's so confusing.

And I can seriously imagine Horseface and Oxhead stopping Pinkie Pie and little Hex after they pass through.

"I pass the trials! Let us through!"

"No. Those trials were purely for the Valeyard to see if HIS soul could find redemption. YOU were HIS guide. Now your true trial begins. You shall play three roles, remaining the same character but your role in the story shall change. Only after you pass these trials shall YOUR test be complete."

3 roles.....wait......(I check the script) Reharmonized pinke, dark world pinkie, G3 pinkie, Chaosverse clone pinke, Grandfalloon Pinkie.....Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm, or is it the nightmare mirror scenario where this pinkie must team up with 5 other pinkies who represent the other elements?

Dark World Pinkie: LoyaltyReharmonized Pinkie: LaughterA world where pinkie lost her family, but still tries to have others smile: KindnessA world where Pinkie became a therapist: HonestyA world where Pinkie's like a royal party planner: GenerosityA world where Pinkie's 4th wall powers are explainable as another form of Magic: Magic

I can imagine Havoc only allows this because the vast majority FAIL. Those who are in Hell are in Hell instead of purgatory because they refuse to change!

“Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my Ahhhh!”

Now that was just mean on the part of the author. It was out of character for the Valeyard.

“So we walk back to back the entire time, keep starring at them and move as fast as possible?”

Technically speaking, since the Weeping Angels are facing each other, they can't really risk looking at their prey when they're like this.

The real question is how this is a trial worthy of Havoc letting go of one of his residents. Doesn't seem 'entertaining' enough.

The better question is if these weeping angels are the real thing, or are all Havoc playing a part.

Ironically being ponies gives us a wider field of vision which in turn allowed us to keep more of them in check at once.

Heh.

And wouldn't they just send them a hundred years before they were born and let them 'live to death?' I thought that was their style.

I'll confess, I WAS expecting Fluttershy instead of Pinkie Pie.

And there is actually a secret to Pocket Watch. Message me if you want to know it.

We all stared at him. I think we all had a strange mixture of pity and disgust in our faces.

Typical of any sinner. Can recognize others' sins but not their own.

“Run away!”

“Don’t stay here!”

“No, let me gAAHHH!”

??????

“So how will you try to save Fuse Box?

I thought it was Little Hex she was here for.

Reads further.

Ah.

Also, the 'good times we had' often involved violently punishing those that his adopted mother had deemed guilty.

“Ohhhh… You ruined the surprise,

Was the abandoned factory the rainbow factory I take it?

Of course, I prefer to go with the theme that the Cupcakes Pinkie was in fact suffering from a tumor or a parasprite infesting her brain, she was not in control of her actions.

BTW: Shadows of existence? In actuality, they don't feel anything. They CAN'T feel anything, they don't have a heart!

I honestly wonder again if this is really Cupcakes!Pinkie Pie, or Havoc playing a role.

Reminds me of a part of the Jack webcomic, where a girl trained her entire life to go to Hell so she could torture her rapist father. Death told her it was a total fool's errand and that Hell had no intention of letting her get what she wanted. Turns out Death was right, her father was able to use and manipulate her JUST like he did when he was alive.

"There are no kingdoms in Hell."

I'm just surprised the Valeyard exists SEPARATELY from the Doctor. When Nightmare Moon and Princess Luna are VERY MUCH the same pony, and in fact the POINT of the Pony POV Series is THAT they're the same pony.

I MUCH preferred where a dark entity tells Luna that he never used mind control on her, AT ALL, all he did was give her power, he played back her own thoughts at her, telling her the name Nightmare Moon, was just an excuse so she wouldn't have to face her own sins.

BUt I REALLY don't get how that was a trial for Pinkie Pie AT ALL. There is a lot more here than meets the eye.

And for Dancing Hooves, her logic was simple:Derpy Hooves (she wouldn't call her Ditzy, that was the name her foster parents gave her), is mentally retarded, physically handy-capped, and has to be looked after constantly. She'll never add anything to the world. She's just a burden. She can not give anything to anyone, all she'll ever be able to do is take. Why NOT put her out of her misery?

I placed a few magic marks on the ground to prevent us from doing the moronic thing and keep walking in circles.

Smart move.

How was she doing all of this?

You think he'd know about her existence as a G3 Pony by now.

Unless you gain enough power to force a change, nothing will ever become different,

Goddess-Madoka, "You're right."

"All the evils I have fought, while you have done nothing but observe! True, I am guilty of interference. Just as you are guilty of failing to use your great powers to help those in need!"

Justified in the Marvel verse's Watcher. The last time his civilization tried to help another race along, they nuked themselves! And he's still willing to SPEAK on the behalf of other races since talk is not considered a violation of his oath.

but slowly she did lead me to the very river I tried to drown Ditzy in and… and…”

Discord is NOT the type to outright KILL a pony in the name of his games. Oh he doesn't give a blank about collateral damage, but he wouldn't make the POINT of the game to see the pony die.

when I saw that the Ditzy I had wished for all this time was a cold-hearted monster

How does that work?

Why was he still in the form of a filly?Why was he still in the form of a colt?

There's a couple of arguments for the idea of The Valeyard existing as a seperate person/soul/whatever from The Doctor - first and foremost, the fact that the source material had him existing simultaneously with The Doctor, and somehow seeking to obtain his remaining regenerations, if I remember it correctly - this could be used to argue that Time Lords work differently from anyone else. For that matter, given how different the personae of the various regenerations are, it wouldn't be that far out to argue that each of them is a somewhat separate soul. Maybe. Metaphysics gives me headaches. Anyway, as to a second argument in favour of him having a separate existence - didn't Discord wonder if that'd be the case, right after his swansong scene?

“I can imagine Havoc only allows this because the vast majority FAIL. Those who are in Hell are in Hell instead of purgatory because they refuse to change!”

I tried to show that most absolutely refuse to change even after hundreds of years with Pocket Watch, Film Critique and the small herd of racist unicorns.

“Now that was just mean on the part of the author. It was out of character for the Valeyard.”

I wanted to show that in the moment he is under enough stress to mess up such simple things. Maybe it would be better and more in character if he stopped just half-way through the promise?

“Technically speaking, since the Weeping Angels are facing each other, they can't really risk looking at their prey when they're like this.”

I could change it to them standing on only one side of the bridge but then again in the episode I saw of them the weeping angels stood in a room where they could technically look at each other. I always thought that they were at least able to sense where the other angels were, so they could turn their faces to the side (and to their targets) to avoid looking at each other.

“The real question is how this is a trial worthy of Havoc letting go of one of his residents. Doesn't seem 'entertaining' enough.”

The question could be who is really tested. And Havoc might do it for more then one reason. For example it could also be related to the bet between Anarchy and Strife that Pandora mentions near the end.

“Pinkie Pie has survived the lost age ending and developed a speed beyond any other creature!” Strife said to her brother.

“HAH! Sorry, sis but no pony will ever be faster then a weeping angel. Not going to happen!” Anarchy countered.

“Is that a bet?”

“You bet!”

“The better question is if these weeping angels are the real thing, or are all Havoc playing a part.”

I tried to leave it open what went on behind the scenes of what the two are seeing on their journey.

“And wouldn't they just send them a hundred years before they were born and let them 'live to death?' I thought that was their style.”

Well, they kept doing that but in the later episodes the weeping angels became real sadists.

“I'll confess, I WAS expecting Fluttershy instead of Pinkie Pie.”

To be honest I thought that Pinkie Pie made more sense since it was very possible that one or more of her children could have ended up in this place. Fluttershy would be a possibility if she was on her way to Fluttercruel or trying to save another soul but then the saving of the soul could not take place like it did. The general idea I had originally in mind likely wouldn’t have worked like this if Fluttershy went with him. When I begin to write a story I only have a few general guidelines about the beginning and the end and write the tale from that and see where it is going.

“And there is actually a secret to Pocket Watch. Message me if you want to know it.”

I would love to know about it.

“Typical of any sinner. Can recognize others' sins but not their own.”

Exactly. But Mrs. Hooves did begin to understand what her own sin was.

“Run away!”

“Don’t stay here!”

“No, let me gAAHHH!”

These are the voices/echoes of all the souls tortured in this place.

“Was the abandoned factory the rainbow factory I take it?”

It was hinted to be that place with a bit of the influence of the hostile environments from Silent Hill.

“Of course, I prefer to go with the theme that the Cupcakes Pinkie was in fact suffering from a tumor or a parasprite infesting her brain, she was not in control of her actions.”

I actually like the idea of a multiverse where there are several reasons possible for her behaviour ranging from insanity, actually being evil, being manipulated, being under a curse or maybe being trapped in a time loop where her friends always suffer horrible with some nightmarishingly clear instructions how they can escape.

“I honestly wonder again if this is really Cupcakes!Pinkie Pie, or Havoc playing a role.”

Again, I tried to leave it open but considering Havoc’s rather strange humour that is a possibility.

“Reminds me of a part of the Jack webcomic, where a girl trained her entire life to go to Hell so she could torture her rapist father. Death told her it was a total fool's errand and that Hell had no intention of letting her get what she wanted. Turns out Death was right, her father was able to use and manipulate her JUST like he did when he was alive.”

In the end hell plays by its own rules and revenge hardly ever accomplishes what it is supposed to do, especially the longer time goes on.

“I'm just surprised the Valeyard exists SEPARATELY from the Doctor. When Nightmare Moon and Princess Luna are VERY MUCH the same pony, and in fact the POINT of the Pony POV Series is THAT they're the same pony.

I MUCH preferred where a dark entity tells Luna that he never used mind control on her, AT ALL, all he did was give her power, he played back her own thoughts at her, telling her the name Nightmare Moon, was just an excuse so she wouldn't have to face her own sins.”

But at the same time I always find it interesting if lives are born in a different way like Tom or Fluttercruel. And the next incarnations will still have the memories of what the Valeyard did in his existence.

I had the swirling vortex kind of portal in mind. I think I should pay more attention to details and later add that to the story as well.

“And for Dancing Hooves, her logic was simple:Derpy Hooves (she wouldn't call her Ditzy, that was the name her foster parents gave her), is mentally retarded, physically handy-capped, and has to be looked after constantly. She'll never add anything to the world. She's just a burden. She can not give anything to anyone, all she'll ever be able to do is take. Why NOT put her out of her misery?”

Thanks for pointing out the mistake. I have corrected the name. Maybe I should expand the part where Mrs. Hooves explains her motivation to incorporate this disturbing train of thought?

“You think he'd know about her existence as a G3 Pony by now.”

I am sure that he knows about it but the details of how she gained her special powers and how they could work can still confuse him.

“Justified in the Marvel verse's Watcher. The last time his civilization tried to help another race along, they nuked themselves! And he's still willing to SPEAK on the behalf of other races since talk is not considered a violation of his oath.”

It is somewhat ironic since information can also have a very devastating impact on other races. But in the end all interactions have some kind of risk in it, some more then others. The more power and knowledge somebody gains the more tempting it becomes to interfere more and more. The Doctor chose to interfere but there were always limits to that.

“Discord is NOT the type to outright KILL a pony in the name of his games. Oh he doesn't give a blank about collateral damage, but he wouldn't make the POINT of the game to see the pony die.”

But some of his games like with Blueblood or Silver Spoon are very clearly rigged towards ending in death. Then again maybe Mrs. Hooves just died in this case because Discord became bored with her when she seemed to get along well with her delusion but in the end her delusion was more deadly then expected.

“How does that work?”

I tried to hint that the Derpy she saw was basically just a delusion created from herself and it showed here how she was like from the outside. Was it not clear enough? I could try to change it.

Those who are in Hell are in Hell instead of purgatory because they refuse to change!

Didn't Lewis (among others) argue that Hell is Purgatory for those who 'learn their lesson' and see what they did wrong?

And for Dancing Hooves, her logic was simple:Derpy Hooves (she wouldn't call her Ditzy, that was the name her foster parents gave her), is mentally retarded, physically handy-capped, and has to be looked after constantly. She'll never add anything to the world. She's just a burden. She can not give anything to anyone, all she'll ever be able to do is take. Why NOT put her out of her misery?

My mother (born in 1931) was old enough to get taught in this kind of 'humane behavior' back when eugenics was the Big Thing in education. Man was it ever creepy.

I'd say that it's less being 'condemned' than a matter of spiritual density. Objects of different weights and densities will sink to different 'levels' in water, so maybe souls that have gotten fouled enough simply can't go (or don't want to go) anywhere else.